Development of sustainable academic-industry partnerships: Untapping breakthrough innovation for the treatment and management of infectious diseases

无论是在国内还是在国际上，传染病都是对人类健康的持续和日益严重的威胁。在英国，抗菌素耐药性(AMR)的迅速增加以及最近SARS-CoV-2大流行的经验，突显出需要投资于解决方案，以管理和消除这些对人类健康的威胁。然而，在这些挑战的同时，技术进步和创新正在为管理和缓解传染病危机创造新的机会，因此仍有乐观的余地。这些包括诊断、疫苗和治疗发现的改进平台，以及人工智能(AI)、物联网(IoT)、大数据、机器人和无人机技术等颠覆性技术的进步。从目前的新冠肺炎大流行中可以清楚地看出，与业界的学术伙伴关系是迅速开发所需工具和消除满足卫生需求所必需的瓶颈的关键。虽然人们普遍认为基础科学的优势存在于学术界，但拥有将创新迅速推向市场的专业知识和能力的是工业部门。欧洲最大的以感染为重点的企业集群正在西北部增长。此外，利物浦市区域(LCR)已被BEIS委托进行的2017年科学与创新审计(SIA)确定为拥有4IR/先进制造、清洁增长、数字和创意技术以及健康和生命科学等相互关联行业的“智能专业化”机会的集中地。可展示的和真正独特的科学和工业资产和能力包括材料创新工厂、STFC哈特里中心超级计算机和IBM Watson平台。形成这一应用程序基础的关键挑战是如何释放这个独特的科学和工业集群的创新潜力，以开发解决方案，以满足现有和新出现的传染病的所述健康需求。目的与目标：建立学术界和工业界之间的联系需要相互信任、承诺、动力和通过共同目标创造双边价值。由于这两个部门通常有不同的目标和目标，并在不同的程序和文化下运作，因此设立这一部门可能具有挑战性。这项申请的总体目标是让借调人员获得相关知识、经验和技能，帮助他制定战略路线图和有效的业务模式，以支持开发创新的解决方案，以满足当前和新出现的与传染病有关的卫生需求。为实现这一目标，具体目标包括：(1)更广泛地了解区域私营部门的科学和工业优势，特别是在颠覆性技术方面的优势。(2)更深入地了解有效的扶持活动和业务模式，用于促进学术界和产业界之间的创新氛围。(3)更好地了解该部门的技能优先事项和促进职业流动的有效机制。(4)更深入地了解学术界在提高产业生产率方面可以发挥的作用，以及这些关系和投资对区域和国家产生的影响。成功完成这一借调有可能使借调人员和借调组织都受益，因为它促进了一种可持续的伙伴关系，这种伙伴关系：(1)加速产生有利于人类健康的突破性创新；(2)提高劳动力技能，促进部门流动；(3)通过提高当地和国家经济的生产力产生影响。这些产出与UKRI创新借调计划的目标直接一致。

Infectious diseases represent a continuous and increasing threat to human health both nationally and internationally. In the UK, rapid increases in antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) and recent experiences from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, highlight the need for investment in solutions to manage and eliminate these threats to human health. There is scope for optimism however as running parallel to these challenges, technological advancement and innovation are creating new opportunities for managing and mitigating against infectious disease crises. These include improved platforms for diagnostic, vaccine and therapeutics discovery, as well as advancements in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, robotics and drone technology. It is clear from the current COVID-19 pandemic that academic partnerships with industry are key to quickly developing the required tools and the elimination of bottlenecks essential to addressing the health needs. Whilst it is broadly recognised that strengths in basic science reside in academia, it is the industrial sector that has the expertise and capability to bring innovations to market quickly.The largest cluster of infection-focused businesses in Europe is growing in the North West. In addition, the Liverpool City Region (LCR) has been identified in a 2017 BEIS-commissioned "LCR+" Science & Innovation Audit (SIA), to possess a concentration of "smart specialisation" opportunities in interrelated sectors of 4IR/advanced manufacturing, clean growth, digital and createch, and health and life sciences. Demonstrable and genuinely distinctive science and industry assets and capabilities include the Materials Innovation Factory, the STFC Hartree Centre supercomputer and the IBM Watson platform.The key challenge that forms the basis of this application is how to unlock the innovation potential of this unique scientific and industrial cluster to develop solutions that address the described health needs of existing and emerging infectious diseases.Aims &Objectives: Setting up links between academia and industry requires mutual trust, commitment, motivation and the creation of bilateral value through a common purpose. This can be challenging to set up as the two sectors generally have different goals and objectives and operate with different procedures and cultures.The overarching aim of this application is for the secondee to gain the relevant knowledge, experience and skills that will aid him in the development of a strategic road map and effective operational models that support the development of innovative solutions to current and emerging infectious disease-related health needs. Towards this aim, the specific objectives include:(i) To gain broader knowledge of the regional private sector scientific and industrial strengths, especially in disruptive technologies.(ii) To gain deeper knowledge and experience of effective enabling activities and operational models used to foster a climate of innovation between academia and industry.(iii) To gain a better understanding of the sector skills priorities and knowledge of effective mechanisms that facilitate career mobility.(iv) To gain a greater understanding of the role that academia can play to increase the productivity of industry and the impact that these relationships and investments make both regionally and nationally. Successful completion of this secondment has the potential to benefit both the secondee and the secondment organisation by fostering a sustainable partnership that (i) accelerates the generation of breakthrough innovations for the benefit of human health, (ii) results in upskilling of the workforce enabling sector mobility and (iii) impacts by increasing the productivity of the local and national economy. These outputs are directly aligned to the aims of the UKRI Innovation Secondment scheme.